Integrating research and outreach education from UMass Amherst
The western region of Massachusetts is composed of Berkshire, Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin Counties. The largest city in the region is Springfield, located in Hampden County, along the Interstate 91 corridor on the Connecticut River.
The Franklin County 4-H program is teaming up with the Bear Country radio station to start a Stand-Up Comedy 4-H Club, says Educator Tom Waskiewicz of UMass Amherst 4-H Extension (Recorder 2/21/20).
Jon Clements, UMass Extension, says apples need to have some chilling hours in order to thrive. (Western Mass News, 2/10/20)
Richard W. Harper, UMass environmental conservation, is interviewed in two related television news stories: how warming weather may cause trees to bloom earlier than usual; and with a visit to a UMass Amherst class by 22 News meteorologist Kelly Reardon.
Spearheaded by the University of Massachusetts Amherst, a collaborative workspace is breathing new life into a Massachusetts legacy city. (Planning Magazine 10/19)
When the decade-old weather station at the UMass Crop and Animal Research and Education Farm in South Deerfield was hit by lightning this past summer, the impact of that loss was felt by the region’s growers. This November, UMass fruit extension educators Jon Clements and Liz Garofalo replaced the decade-old defunct weather station with a new one.
“And how are the children?”
-- traditional greeting of the Masai tribe of east Africa
Springfields's 4-H program at Robinson Gardens is thriving under the leadership of Lauren Dubois, UMass extension 4-H youth development program (The Republican -go to page C3 1/9/20)
A local solar energy equipment supplier spoke to legislators at UMass South Deerfield farm on how to integrate solar power with active local farms. (Recorder 10/23/19; WWLP-TV 22, 10/21/19
An article about young farmers in Franklin County quotes Amanda Brown, director of the UMass Student Farming Enterprise Program and the Stockbridge School of Agriculture’s Agricultural Learning Center. She says the learning curve for first-time farmers is steep and she advises new farmers to spend a couple years learning by working for a good established farmer. (Recorder 9/20/19)
Springfield Public Schools, working with its dining service management company, Sodexo, will use their USDA grant funds to build five to seven new teaching gardens at schools. They’ll also expand parental involvement in partnership with the Springfield Food Policy Council and UMass Extension Nutrition Education Program. (Gazette 9/23/19)
Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment
Stockbridge Hall,
Civil Rights and Non-Discrimination Information
Mass. Agricultural Experiment Station
UMass Research and Education Center Farms
Water Resources Research Center